Seat adjuster



July 26, 1938.

E. G. SIMPSON ET AL SEAT ADJusTER Filed May 27. 1936 4 Sheets-Shea?l 1 VVMW..

July 26, 1938. E. G. SIMPSON Er Al.v

SEAT ADJUSTER Filed May 27. 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 lil lv/W, mwofo wim Hm fwd. f@

July 26, 1938; E. G. SIMPSON ET AL 2,124,755

I SEAT ADJUSTER Fiied May 27) 195e 4 sheets-sheet 5 u l r l..

I A 6 d) AT'ORNEYS July 26, 1938.` E. G. sxMPs-ON Yr A1. 2,124,755

SEAT ADJUSTER Filed May 27, 1956 A 4 sheets-sheet 4 Patented July 26, 193s 2,124,755

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SEAT ADJUSTER Emory Glenn Simpson and Andrew Christian Andersen, Detroit, Mich., assignors to Ternstedt Manufacturing Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Application May 27, 1936, Serial No. 82,055

14 Claims. (Cl. 155-88) This invention relates to a seat adjuster and I which is secured by screws to the seat frame 9. more particularly to a seat that can be raised or The swinging bolt I2 can be disengaged from the lowered within a predetermined range to suit the rack I3 by raising the handle I6. Upon release individual desire of the occupant. of the handle I6 the bolt is swung into engage- It is an object of this invention to produce a ment with the rack I3 by the torsion spring II. vertically adjustable seat which is readily ad- Since this invention relates to an adjustable justable both when occupied and unoccupied. seat which is primarily intended for adjustment More particularly the invention contemplates by the occupant, and for use in an automotive a vertically adjustable seat in which the seat or a vehicle body where space is at a premium and 10 portion thereof functions as, and is, one of the eiiiciency utilized, it is desirable, although not 1o elements of the adjusting mechanism. necessary, that the seat be raised and lowered More particularly the invention contemplates with a step by step movement. To effect this a vertically adjustable seat in which the energy end it is proposed in the raising and lowering supplied by the occupant or other operator of the of the seat to so mount the seat that the moveseat is transmitted by movement of the entire ment of. the seat, or a portion thereof, in the .15 seat or a portion thereof, such as the seat bottom raising and lowering will be an alternating moveor the seat back, to other mechanism which ment, that is, the seat will rst move in one diraises or lowers the seat. rection and then in the opposite direction to In the drawings: eifect vertical adjustment thereof. As herein Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of the shown the seat is mounted so that the particular 270 seat and the adjusting mechanism. type of alternating movement is a rocking move- Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section through ment. the seat and adjuster. A pair of L-shaped posts I8 are secured to the Fig. 3 is a section along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. floor 20 by the bolts I9, one on each side of the Fig. 4 is a section along the line 4 4 of Fig. 2. seat. The front and rear Vertical edges of each 25 Fig. 5 is a detail of the shifter plate for conpost I8 are provided with a plurality of teeth trolling the raising and lowering movements of which form the racks 2l and 22. The posts I8 the seat. are each provided with elongated, vertically ex- Figs. 6, 7 and 8 show the seat being lowered and tending 51017523 Which SBIV@ aS guideWaYS fOl the the position ofthe adjusting parts to effect lower- DnS 24 Which are' TiVeted '00 the depending 30 ing of the seat. flanges 25 of the plates 5 and I5. The shafts 3 Figs. 9, 10, 11 and 12 show the seat being raised and 4 are iournaled in the depending anees 25 and the relative positions of the parts of the adas at 26. The shaft 3 has fixed on each end juster to effect raising of the seat. thereof a pawl 2'I so that the pawls 2l rotate with Fig. 13 is a section along the line I3-I3 o the shaft 3. The shaft 4 has similarly fixed on 35 Fig. 2. each end thereof a pawl 28.

Referring more particularly to the drawings The engagement 0f the DaWlS With the racks there is shown a, portion of the Customary Seat l preferably is controlled from one side of the seat. provided with the usual bottom and back This control mechanism is herein shown on the 40 cushions. v right side of the seat and comprises a V-shaped 40 The seat is designed to be slidably adjustable shifter plate 29 which has ailxed t0 the upper fore and aft. To this end the parallel transverse ends a nger piece or button 30. The legs or" the support shafts 3 and 4 have mounted thereon the shifter plate 29 are provided with slots 3I and 32 support track members 5 and 6, each of which is which have a lost motion connection with pins provided with the elongated slots 'I and 8. The 33 and 34 xed to the levers 35 and 36. The 45 seat bottom frame 9 has secured thereto a plulever 35 is freely rotatably mounted on the end rality of brackets I El to which are fixed the headed of. the shaft 4 and the lever 35 is freely rotatably studs I I. These studs II slidably engage the mounted on the end of the rod 3. The lever 35 is support plates 5 and 6 in the slots 'I and 8 to provided with the flange 3l which overlaps the permit forwardly and rearwardly sliding adjustpawl 28 and the lever 36 is provided with the 50 ing of the seat I. The seat is held in any of its flange 38 which overlaps the pawl 2l. The pms forwardly or rearwardly adjusted positions by the 33 and 34 have a lost motion connection with the latch bolt I2 which interengages the rack I3 plate 29 in the slots 3I and 32. An expansion formed in the depending flange I4 of the plate 5. spring 40 has one end secured to the pin 33 and The swinging bolt I2 is mounted on the plate the other end secured to the pin 24. A similar 55 expansion spring 4| has one end secured to the pin 34 and the other end secured to the pin 24. The pawls and the ends of the shafts 3 and 4 are preferably concealed by cover plates 42 which are secured by rivets 43 to the depending flanges 25 of the plates 5 and 6. The right hand cover plate is provided with a slot 44 to permit vertical travel of the button 30. The cover plates 42 are provided with the inwardly turned flanges 45. The lower ends 46 of these flanges serve as stops against which the pawls 21 and 28 abut when the mechanism is set for lowering.

The operation of the seat is as follows: The seat is shown in fully raised position in Figs. 1 and 6. When it is desired to lower the seat the button 30 is pushed downwardly toward the bottom of the slot 44. This causes downward travel of the plate 29. The downward travel of the plate 29, acting through the pins 33 and 34, swings the lever 35 counter-clockwise and the lever 35 clockwise so that the flanges 31 and 38 engage the pawls 28 and 29 and swing them about their pivots, namely, the ends of the shafts 3 and 4. Thus, the force of the spring 40 tends to rotate the pawl 28 counter-clockwise and the spring 4|, acting through the lever 36, tends to rotate the pawl 21 clockwise.

As shown in Fig. 6, the pawl 21 is interengaged with rack 22 whereas pawl 28 has been rotated counter-clockwise and abuts the stop 46. Since the pawls 21 and 28 are xed on the shafts 3 and 4 the position of the pawls at the other end of the shaft is the same. Hence, at this time the seat, as shown in Fig. 6, is supported by the two rearmost pawls 21 and shaft 3. If the seat is now rocked clockwise about shaft 3, as viewed in Figs. 1 and 6, so that the portion of the seat forward of the shaft 3 swings downwardly and the portion of the seat rearward of the shaft 3 swings upwardly, the pawl 28 will swing inwardly into engagement with the rack 2|, as shown in Fig. 7. As soon as the weight of the seat is transferred to the pawls 28 and shaft 4, the pawls 21 are free to be swung by spring 4I out of engagement with the rack 22 into engagement with the stop 46, as shown in Fig. '1.

If the seat, as viewed in Fig. 7, is now rocked counter-clockwise about shaft 4, the seat will be lowered and the pawl 21 will again engage the rack 2 below the position shown in Fig. 6. Preferably the pawls 21 and 28 in their up and down travel engage every other tooth of the racks 2| and 22. However, the length of the step taken by the pawls can be varied.

As shown in Fig. 9, the seat is in completely lowered position. To raise the seat from this position the button 3D and shifter plate 29 are raised to the position shown in Fig. 9. At this time the button 30 is adjacent the top of the slot 44 and the springs 4D and 4| have been shifted upwardly so that the pins 33 and 34 are now above center. Therefore, the springs 48 and 4|, acting through pins 33 and 34 and levers 35 and 38, tend to urge the portion of the pawls 21 and 28 below the shafts 3 and 4 into interengagemen'i'I with the racks 2| and 22. If the seat is now rocked counter-clockwise, as viewed in Fig. 9, about shaft 3, pawl 28 will travel along rack 2| to the position shown in Fig. 10. If the direction of the rocking movement of the seat is now reversed so that the seat swings clockwise about the shaft 4, as viewed in Fig. 10, the pawl 21 will travel upwardly along the rack 22 a distance of one or more teeth. Continuation of this rocking movement of the seat will thus elevate the seat along the supports I8.

Both in the raising and lowering of the seat as the seat is rocked about the shafts 3 and 4 the pins 24 slidably engage the supports I8 in the slots 23 to guide the vertical travel of the seat.

As shown in Fig. 13, after the seat has been raised or lowered to any desired position within its range of adjustment it can be locked in horizontal position by means of a latch 1|) pivoted to pawl 21 as at 1|. Pawl 28 carries a pin 12. Latch 1U has a step 13 which engages behind the pin 12 and locks both pawls 28 into interengagement with the racks 2| and 22 on post |8. The latch 10 is held in latched relation by a spring keeper 14 which yieldably engagesV the end of the latch 10 in depression 15 to hold the latch in latching relation with pin 12. When the latch is shifted upwardly about its pivot 1| it yieldably engages the depression 16 in the spring keeper 14 to hold the latch retracted.

We claim:

1. In an automotive vehicle, a seat, a vertically adjustable support for the seat, means for interconnecting the seat and the vertically adjustable support to permit alternating movement of the seat or a portion thereof, motion translating and transmitting means for translating the alternating motion of the seat into vertical motion and transmitting the said vertical motion to said adjustable support whereby alternating movement of the said seat or a portion thereof adjusts the said support and thereby vertically adjusts the seat.

2. In combination, a seat, a vertically adjustable support for the said seat, operative connections between the seat and the adjustable support permitting alternating movement of the seat on the said support, and motion translating and transmitting mechanism operated by the alterhating movement of the said seat or a portion thereof for translating the alternating motion of the seat into vertical motion and transmitting the said vertical motion to said adjustable support to vertically adjust the said support and the seat carried thereby.

3. In combination, a seat, a vertically adjustable support for the said seat, operative connections between the seat and the adjustable support permitting alternating movement of the seat on the said support, motion translating and transmitting mechanism operated by the alternating movement of the said seat for translating the alternating motion of the seat into vertical motion and transmitting the said vertical motion to said adjustable support to vertically adjust the said support and the seat carried thereby, and a shiftable control for said mechanism shiftable into one positon whereby alternating movement of the seat vertically adjusts the said support and raises the seat and shiftable to another position whereby alternating movement of the seat on its support vertically adjusts the support and lowers the seat.

4. In combination, a seat comprising back and bottom members, a vertically adjustable support for the said seat, operative connections between the seat and the adjustable support permitting alternating movement of the seat on the said support, motion translating and transmitting mechanism operated by the alternating movement of one of the said seat members for translating the alternating motion of the seat into vertical motion and transmitting the said vertical motion to said adjustable support to vertically adjust the said support and the seat carried thereby, a shiftable control for said mechanism shiftable into one position whereby alternating movement of the said seat member vertically adjusts the said support and raises the seat and shiftable to another position whereby alternating movement of the seat on its support vertically adjusts the support and lowers the seat, and a lock for latching the seat in any of its vertically adjusted positions.

5. In combination with a seat, an extensible support therefor, connections between the seat and the said extensible support permitting alternating movement of the said seat or a portion thereof, elevating mechanism operatable step by step including operative connections with the said seat whereby alternating movement of the seat is transmitted by the said connections to the said elevating mechanism to vertically adjust the extensible support step by step and thereby vertically adjust the seat.

6. In combination with a seat comprising back and bottom members, an extensible support therefor, connections between the seat and the said extensible support permitting alternating movement of one of the said seat members, elevating mechanism operatable step by step including operative connections with the said seat member whereby alternating movement of the seat member is transmitted by the said connections to the said elevating mechanism to vertically adjust the extensible support step by step and thereby vertically adjust the seat, and a shiftable control for the said elevating mechanism for shifting the elevating mechanism into position whereby alternating movement of the seat member vertically elevates the support step by step to raise the seat and shiftable into another position whereby alternating movement of the seat member collapses the elevating mechanism step by step to lower the seat.

7. In an automotive vehicle, a seat adapted to face in a predetermined direction in the said vehicle, vertically adjustable mechanism adapted to s'upport the said seat on the floor of the vehicle, operative connections between the said seat and its support permitting alternating movement of the said seat on the said support and motion translating means for translating the alternating movement of the seat into vertical motion and transmitting said vertical motion to the vertical adjustable support mechanism whereby alternating movement of the said .seat upon its said support while the seat faces the same predeterbined position vertically adjusts the said seat.

8. In combination, a. seat, a support therefor, operative connections between the support and the said seat permitting said seat to rock upon the said support and to move upwardly and downwardly along the said support, pawl and ratchet mechanism carried by the seat and the said support actuatable by the rocking movement of the said seat to adjust the said seat vertically along the said support.

l 9. In combination, a seat, a support therefor, operative connections between the support and the said seat permitting said seat to rock upon the said support and to move upwardly and downwardly along the said support, pawl and ratchet mechanism carried by the seat and the said support actuatable by the rocking movement of the said seat to adjust the said seat vertically along the said support, and a shiftable control for thev said pawl and ratchet mechanism shiftable into one position whereby rocking movement of the seat causes the pawl and ratchet mechanism to raise the seat and shiftable into another position whereby rocking movement of the seat causes the pawl and ratchet mechanism to lower the seat upon its support.

10. In combination, a seat, a support therefor, operative connections between the support and the said seat permitting said seat to rock upon the said support and to move upwardly and downwardly along the said support, pawl and ratchet mechanism' carried by the seat and the said support actuatable by the rocking movement of the said seat to adjust the said seat vertically along the said support, a shiftable control for the said pawl and ratchet mechanism shiftable into one position whereby rocking movement of the seat causes the pawl and ratchet mechanism to raise the seat and shiftable into another position whereby rocking movement of the seat causes the pawl and ratchet mechanism to lower the seat upon its support, and a latch for latching the pawl and ratchet mechanism in any of its vertically adjusted positions to hold the seat against rocking movement.

11. In combination with a seat, a support, operative connections between the support and the said seat connecting the seat for rocking about the said support and to move upwardly and downwardly along the said support, a pair of racks, a pawl for interengagement with each of said racks, said racks and pawls being carried by the said seat and support and actuated in the rocking movement of the said seat or a portion thereof whereby the pawls travel along the said racks to vertically adjust the seat.

l2. In combination with a seat, a support, operative connections between the support and the said seat connecting the seat for rocking about the said support and to move upwardly and downwardly along the said support, a pair of racks, a pawl for interengagement with each of said racks, said racks and pawls being carried by the said seat and support and actuated in the rocking movement of the said seat or a portion thereof whereby the pawls travel along the said racks, and a shiftable control including over-center springs shiftable into one position for throwing both of said pawls into yieldable engagement with the said rack whereby rocking movement of the seat or a portion thereof causes the pawls to alternately support the seat and to travel along the said racks to vertically adjust the said seat along its support.

13. In combination with a seat, a support, operative connections between the support and the said seat connecting the seat for rocking about the said support and to move upwardly and downwardly along the said support, a pair of racks, a pawl for interengagement with each of said racks, said racks and pawls being carried by the said seat and support and actuated in the rocking movement of the said seat or a portion thereof whereby the pawls travel along the said racks, a shiftable control including over-center springs shiftable into one position to yieldably urge both of said pawls away from their respective racks, and a stop for each of said pawls to limit movement thereof away from its respective rack whereby when the seat is raised and the shiftable control is shifted into one position one of the said pawls interengages with its rack to permit said seat to rock about this pawl until the other pawl is swung into interengagement with its rack to effect step by step lowering of the said seat.

14. In combination with a seat, a support, operative connections between the support and the said seat connecting the seat for rocking about the said support and to move upwardly and downwardly along the said support, a pair of racks, a pawl for interengagement with each of said racks actuated in the rocking movement of the said seat or a portion thereof to travel along the said racks, a shiftable control including overcenter springs shiftable into one position to yieldably urge both of said pawls away from their respective racks and into engagement with said pawls in engagement with their respective racks 10 to lock the seat against further lowering.

EMORY GLENN SIMPSON. ANDREW CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN. 

